Cross from the NT into WA and arrive in Kununurra!

We are here in Kununurra for five nights. Plan to get around a bit if we can drag ourself away from the view from our breakfast table at the van park.

Kununurra is quite a large town with around 7,000 residents that swells to upwards of 14,000 in the busy dry season. There are several large van parks and other hotel/motel and resort style accommodations. Plenty to do in four days.

The big thing near town is the Diversion Dam that holds back the upper Ord River to form Lake Kununurra. The upper Ord is actually the water that is let out of Lake Argyle, about 55km upstream.

Lake Kununurra is this backed up river, not particularly wide behind the Diversion Dam but with a number of lagoons off to the sides. Our van park is on Lily Lagoon, the van is perched on the bank just back from the crocs (haven’t seen any).

The Dam is called ‘Diversion’ because an irrigation canal diverts water from the lake into the agricultural lands that thrive in the region.

The canal gravity feeds various channels into the farmland and from which water allocations are taken by the farmer.

Plenty of stuff grows here: cotton is big, sandalwood is in decline but there are mangoes, various melon types and grains.

Behind this farmland is an old gravel road that runs about 100km from Kununurra, for most part along the lower Ord, to Wyndham on the coast. We are going to drive this road while we are here. Homealone wonders why, but Allthego suggests that because it is there we need to do it! Not though for a day or two.

The main way of getting on this back road is across another iconic Kununurra site. The Ivanhoe Crossing, about 10km from town.

Currently, it is closed as there is too much water spilling across it. Crocs either side. Hopefully, it will be open before we leave so that we can make a crossing!

Not far from the Ivanhoe Crossing is the Hoochery, the local distillery. It produces a range of spirits and mixers from mostly local grown ingredients. Rum being the main one. There is a whiskey made from local sorghum in the American rye style. Being lunchtime we pulled in for a light snack and also had a taste or two. All rather good!

We celebrated Mother’s Day on the Lake on the first Sunset cruise of the season, only eleven aboard so there was plenty of room to move around. Homealone likes being on the water! The boat meandered out of Lily Lagoon onto the Lake proper and putted upstream for awhile for a different view of the Sleeping Buddha, the head of which looks like that of an elephant.

It was then down a narrow channel into Packsaddle Lagoon for a bbq (steak and barra) dinner as the sun went down. We left to head back to the marina in semi darkness with a large flock (?) of fruit bats flying around the Lake behind the Diversion Dam.

Next, we are off on a day trip to Wyndham. It will prove to be quite an adventure with an unexpected twist!